Seniors Seek "Fairness Act" Bill to Limit Mobile-Home Park Rent Hikes

Tuesday

Feb 12, 2013 at 11:57 PM

Diagrams illustrating the eight ways to win at bingo adorned the walls of the community room at Citrus Center Colony, but the 30 or so seniors gathered there on a recent morning weren't playing games. The representatives of local manufactured-home communities listened as activist Ed Green urged them to pressure state legislators to support a proposed bill that he said could some day save them from having to forfeit their homes.

By GARY WHITETHE LEDGER

LAKELAND ­| Diagrams illustrating the eight ways to win at bingo adorned the walls of the community room at Citrus Center Colony, but the 30 or so seniors gathered there on a recent morning weren't playing games.

The representatives of local manufactured-home communities listened as activist Ed Green urged them to pressure state legislators to support a proposed bill that he said could some day save them from having to forfeit their homes.

Green spoke calmly, but his words were often incendiary.

"You understand that they (park owners) have to make a profit or they wouldn't be able to supply you with what they supply you with," Green said, "but they don't have to make such a large profit that you bleed to death to enjoy it. Take little chunks instead of big chunks."

That prompted murmurs of agreement from the seniors whose parks were identified by yellow paper labels — Highland Village, Anglers Cove, May Manor and others.

Green, who lives in a manufactured-home park in Citrus County, is traveling the state to promote the "Florida Rent Fairness Act," which he said he hopes will be introduced in the Florida Legislature session beginning in March. The proposed bill would greatly limit the amount parks can raise lot rents following a home sale by linking them to the Consumer Price Index, the federal government's measure of inflation.

Residents of manufactured-home neighborhoods — also called mobile-home parks — occupy a unique niche. In most parks, residents own their homes but rent their spaces. Lot rents can vary greatly within a park, and when a resident sells a home the park owners impose "market rent adjustments," meaning the buyer might face a lot rent much higher than the seller's.

That, Green said, can make it difficult for seniors to sell their homes. He gave the example of a senior resident whose spouse dies, cutting the resident's income in half and leaving him or her unable to afford living in the park.

With potential buyers deterred by high lot rents, some seniors simply turn their homes over to the park owners, abandoning tens of thousands of dollars in equity — a scenario Green called "involuntary foreclosure."

Addressing members of the Lakeland Interpark Council, Green railed against the "greed" of park owners, many of them large corporations based in Chicago.

"They don't care if you're able to sell your house," Green said. "They don't care if you have to give away your house. They would probably prefer that you give it to them."

Green, citing data from the Florida Manufactured Housing Association (FMHA), said Florida has slipped to fourth in attracting retirees, behind North Carolina, South Carolina and Arizona. He said a shift of just three-tenths of a percent of annual retirees represents a $1 billion loss in revenue for Florida.

Dan Titus, a resident of Schalamar Creek, an 876-lot community in Lakeland, said he knows of one resident who sold his home for $1 to escape paying lot rents. Titus, 75, said some long-time residents of Schalamar Creek pay as little as $200 in lot rent, but buyers face monthly rates of $585.

Titus said the combination of high lot rent rates and increases in ad valorem taxes on mobile-home parks (see related story, A6) — the result of changes in ownership and new tax assessments — creates a sticker shock that makes area communities less enticing to retirees.

"I've had one Canadian neighbor who told me he would not recommend any of his Canadian friends coming into a community like this because of this situation," Titus said.

SEEKING SPONSOR

The prospects of the Florida Rent Fairness Act are uncertain. Green said Rep. Charles Dean, R-Inverness, asked him to write the proposed bill and has vowed to sponsor it. The staff of Rep. Jimmie Smith, R-Inverness, has drafted a House bill, Green said, though Smith has used his six allotted sponsorships for the session.

A spokesman for House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, said Weatherford has not taken a position on a potential bill. Rep. Seth McKeel, R-Lakeland, did not respond to a request for comment.

The FHMA, which represents more than 700 communities, is lobbying against the proposed change. Jim Ayotte, the group's executive director, said the process of setting lot rents is well defined and not arbitrary. He said homeowners associations can challenge lot rental rates in court if they consider them too high.

"People can call it anything they want," Ayotte said of the proposed bill, "but when you really strip it all away it's rent control, and that's not constitutional here in Florida and, quite frankly, we don't see a need for it."

Ayotte said rental rates are guaranteed in the contracts residents sign when they move in. That allows some to continue paying rent well below market value.

"Some homeowners seem to be trying to get things both ways," Ayotte said. "They want to go in and make sure rents are limited — and I understand that; everyone wants certainty — but on the other hand, they want to make sure there's certainty after the fact when they sell their home, and that's really an impossible situation."

Ayotte said mobile-home park residents would be wiser to pressure legislators for improvements in the property insurance industry. He said many seniors are unable to get adequate insurance for their homes.

HARD TO SELL

Green and other advocates say seniors are squeezed between two forces: declines in value for homes and increases in value for mobile-home parks. The market adjustments for lot rents cut into the amount buyers are willing to pay for the homes.

Titus said many residents have poured thousands of dollars into improvements for their homes only to find them impossible to sell. A web listing shows 97 homes now for sale in Schalamar Creek.

Whereas traditional home sellers might be able to simply wait for housing prices to rise before selling, Titus said seniors sometimes face urgent situations triggered by a decline in health or the death of a spouse.

Green told of an 88-year-old man living in a Lakeland community who sustained a significant drop in income after his wife died. Unable to sell his home, the man gave it away and moved in with a neighbor.

When reached by The Ledger, the man declined to be interviewed.

"These people are afraid of retaliation," Green said.

Lakeland City Commissioner Don Selvage attended last week's Lakeland Interpark Council meeting. He told the audience his attention had been drawn to the financial plight of seniors since hearing last year from a Beacon Hill Colony constituent upset about an increase in annual fees following the park's sale.

Selvage said city commissioners have little influence in the state legislature, but he said grassroots efforts can be effective.

"I don't pretend to be an expert in this, but something doesn't smell right," Selvage told the audience. "Something's not fair about this whole system."

Ayotte, the FMHA executive director, said mobile-home parks are not deceiving residents. He said all the financial details are described in the contracts residents sign, including the park owners' options for making market rent adjustments when a home changes hands.

Green insisted that the Florida Rent Fairness Act doesn't amount to rent control, a practice forbidden by Florida court rulings. He noted that Florida regulates the rates insurers and utilities can charge their customers.

The six-paragraph draft Green distributed at last week's meeting in Lakeland includes an exception for cases of lifetime leases that keep rents well below market levels. Following a home sale, park owners would be able to increase the rent to the lowest monthly rate offered in the community.

Ayotte said such a system would make mobile-home parks unprofitable and lead to closures, ultimately hurting all homeowners.

"If mobile-home parks can't produce enough income to operate, they will go out of business; they will close," Ayotte said. "And that really doesn't make sense for anyone. That's not beneficial at all."

[ Gary White can be reached at gary.white@theledger.com or 863-802-7518. ]

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.